Friday, June 27, 2014

BEAUTY: Clothing--Rick Owens

It is fascinating when designers take an inspiration that is unexpected for them and infuse their own sensibility with it. There are designers who interpret their inspiration, and the best example of that would be John Galliano when he was designing, but Rick Owens' dedication to his own singular vision is, admirably, unwavering. So when Owens takes on a rather, um, "high brow" inspiration like Nijinsky's ballet "Afternoon of a Faun" which Nijinsky choreographed and danced for the Ballet Russes in 1912, Owens does not make his work fit the inspiration, he makes the inspiration fit into his work. His signature tunics and highly futuristic simplified garments reference the ballet by using color blocks. His palette this season ventures into unfamiliar territory for Owens, with pale dusty shades reminiscent of the set and costume design for the ballet. He even painted his models' entire bodies those colors, mimicking not only the palette but the full body suit Nijinsky wore as the faun. There were also references to the scarf left behind by the faun's love interest (which he masturbates on at the end of the ballet) in the fluttering pieces attached to shirts. Models also sported silver boots tipped with wings...or horns?

The box-like nature of the collection echoes the angular, geometric nature of Nijinsky's original choreography which in many ways resembled Egyptian hieroglyphics. The collection taken as a whole (and without knowing the inspiration) is possibly one of the most "alien" looking Owens has ever created.

About Me

About "Oh, By The Way"

"Oh, By The Way" is my digital scrap book of things I like, things I would share with a close friend and say: “Oh, by the way, do you know of this artist/ clothing or interior designer/ model/ singer/ actor/ gorgeous man… or, have you seen this video/ photo/ film... or heard (or do you remember) this song/ band... or, read this book/ poem/ inspiring quote... or, visited this place/ restaurant/ famous building... or, have you heard of this amazing new scientific discovery?”

I am dedicated to posting the positive, the fascinating, the beautiful, the interesting, the moving, and the inspiring and uplifting. Sometimes I post cultural as well as personal observations, milestones, and remembrances. And just like life, all of these things may often have a bit of melancholy or even sadness in them, which is what makes our time here so lovely and bittersweet and precious.

Some of the photos, art, poetry, and prose are my own original work, credited with my initials, JEF. When it isn't, I always try to post links to the original source material, but often I find photos on the web that are not linked or other material that is not sourced. In these instances, I post them without malice since it is assumed that such things, by being globally posted on something as uncontrollable as the internet to begin with, are in the public domain. If you identify the source of an image that is not linked, please politely let me know (without accusing me of theft) and I will be happy to provide a link.

I hope to inspire and entertain my readers with things that inspire and entertain ME. There is a startling amount of beauty and creativity in the world and it enriches us all to participate in it.

All-time Favorite Films

2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)

After Hours (Hysterical, hair-raising ride through NYC at night)

Amelie

American Beauty (Alan Ball)

Baraka (Stunning, transcending—the "spiritus mundi" on film)

Belle et Bete (Cocteau)

Big Sleep, The (The epitome of film noir)

Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn & Grant—the epitome of screwball comedy)

Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, The (Greenaway)

Crash (Cronenberg—DIFFICULT subject, not for everyone)

Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg—ultimate modern gothic horror)

Drowning By Numbers (Greenaway)

Easy Rider

Edward II (Derek Jarman)

Erendira (From magic realist Marquez’ brilliant short story)

Eyes Wide Shut (Kubrick's last film)

Fearless (Jeff Bridges—life and death)

Funny Bones (Leslie Caron, Jerry Lewis, and the brilliant Lee Evans)

Holiday (Hepburn & Grant)

Howard’s End (The ultimate statement of the unfairness of class systems)